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This week I am writing about 5 London start-ups that look set to prosper in 2015. My final company is Global {M}, a recruitment company, but with a difference. Good recruitment is still seen as a traditional and highly personalised service, bad recruitment as pressurised, over-competitive and unhelpful to job seekers. Global {M} has moved away from the traditional model, but retained the personal commitment.

Since rebranding from Global Method Recruitment to Global {M}, the company has doubled the number of staff it employs to 12, and expects to do the same in 2015. The same goes for turnover, with £1m a realistic, and if anything a conservative target for 2015. Global {M} are hoping to triple their client base by expanding into untapped Middle Eastern markets such as Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and, having noted substantial growth in their market within Germany and Switzerland, they are planning expansion into Europe as well.

So far so good, but this is really only half the story. Let me give you an example of how Global {M} like to do things differently from the traditional recruitment model. It’s called the TechTeam Deployment Programme. Effectively, instead of hiring disparate personalities with contrasting work experience, and throwing them together in the hope that everyone will pull together and deliver some good work, the Tech Team Deployment Programme allows Global M to parachute in a pre-vetted team with a proven track record, and the ability to work harmoniously and deliver the best possible results. It helps to ensure that nothing is left to chance, and the added bonus here is that hiring a team rather than individuals saves valuable time and significantly reduces administrative costs.

“We believe we have naturally evolved into one of Europe’s most strategic recruitment businesses”, says founder Nick Waller, and Global {M} can certainly point to an impressive client roster, including Kayak, Optiver, Trivago, Bizzby, and Booking.com. “We’ve created innovative strategies and events to assist big corporates retain and recruit talent globally, as well as working alongside high growth start-ups to connect with co-founders, investors, and teams of technologists.”

Having a finger in both the corporate and start-up pies is a clever, not to mention lucrative, idea, allowing the team to identify trends in the marketplace and fill them quickly, but the thought process goes beyond that. It means Global {M} are very well placed to introduce a little part of the start-up culture into the corporate world, and vice versa. The Intrapreneur club is an initiative the team have planned and are about to execute, which brings together staff at big companies with an entrepreneurial mindset, and shows them how to introduce a more dynamic and creative culture to their workplaces. It will provide Intrapreneurs with the tools they need to make things happen, and will also help their employers to understand how to nurture and retain this kind of talent. Corporates and start-ups do not always have to be at loggerheads, because they can learn a lot from each other, goes the thinking.

Another initiative on the social side is a 13 week “get back into work” programme, alongside Digisheds Social Innovation, aimed at helping the long term employed acquire the skills and confidence they need to return to the workplace. Global M is the recruitment partner, helping to find positions for those who have successfully completed the program.

But there is still yet another dimension to this outfit! The team have made investments into 2 early stage companies who they intend to work with collaboratively, and, as they expand, who better to find them the staff they need? “We figure we are investing time and energy into so many projects and because we believe we are getting the right results it seems like a waste not to retain a vested interest in their development”, says co-founder Alex Hemsley. The team are keen to introduce an incubator style model that enables them to work intensively with companies that they are invested in in a hands-on way, executing growth plans and ensuring that when the time is right, expansion is achieved with the minimum of fuss.

Another good idea, and here’s another one: an SEIS fund is set to be launched this year as well. For those unfamiliar with SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) it’s a government endorsed and tax efficient way for high net worth investors to fund early stage tech companies in the UK. Investors are able to claw back up to 50% of their income tax and avoid paying capital gains tax once investments are realised after 3 years. It’s a popular scheme, and generally regarded as one the world’s most favourable for start-ups. You won’t find anything similar in Europe, even in the US, and it is part of the reason so many young entrepreneurs are now moving to London.

Socially responsible recruitment, pre-vetted development teams, funding, and a fund. Throw in international expansion (a new office is set to open in Dubai this year) and you have a recipe for success and a busy year. “Execution is what we feel we do best”, says founder Nick. We are taking a lot on but we’ve no intention of getting in over our heads. It’s simply about following the plan, adapting when we need to and making sure we keep everyone happy at the same time.”

Global {M}’s central London offices include a rooftop terrace that affords a fine view of East London’s skyline. No doubt it helps to have this kind of perspective when you are planning for expansion. Many of the team are keen bloggers and their views on Middle East expansion and growth at home are well worth having a look at. If you like what you read and you are looking to move up in the world it could be worth paying Global {M} a visit. Especially if you think like an entrepreneur.

I am a freelance journalist based in London, where I work closely with entrepreneurs around the "Silicon Roundabout", London's answer to San Francisco's Silicon Valley,…

I am a freelance journalist based in London, where I work closely with entrepreneurs around the "Silicon Roundabout", London's answer to San Francisco's Silicon Valley, New York's Silicon Alley and Israel's Silicon Wadi! I like to focus on the world's most exciting entrepreneurs and their companies, big or small, global player or humble start-up. I report on trends and discuss strategies, as well as looking at what makes a truly great entrepreneur. I am interested in what makes a successful entrepreneur tick, how they think about the world, how they run their businesses and the cultures they create. I report on the big decisions made by them and their teams, and what impact this might have on the global, or local business market. I am the editor of www.haggerston-times.com, a blog focused on tech, start-ups, investment and entrepreneurs with a particular focus on the Silicon Roundabout. I also run a boutique PR Company, Haggerston Tech and Media Services, helping local start-ups get noticed, scale up, and win investment.